On tonight's episode of Big Brother 9, we get the typical aftermath of the nominations of Chelsia and Sharon. Now that the pairs have been split up, these houseguests are running wild with new alliances. There are deals within deals within deals, and it's a bit confusing to keep everything straight. Everyone seems to be playing everyone at some point. We get the first singles Power of Veto competition, which is a rehash of last season's Nasty Christmas, complete with a red unitard. In the words of Jesus, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken us?

Is Ryan a Genius?

We all know Natalie is hopelessly in love with Matt, and he has no interest in her other than how it can help him win the game. Joshuah, jealous of Ryan's alliance with Matt, suggests to the women that they convince Ryan to backdoor Matt and, in return, promise Ryan two free weeks.

Natalie immediately takes this information to Matt, like Charlie Brown thinking that, this time, Lucy will let him kick the ball (in this metaphor, Matt is Lucy, and “kicking the ball” is a euphemism for “make out with her”). Matt tells Ryan, then Joshuah proposes it to Ryan, but Ryan reveals he already knew from Natalie. Why would he give up their mole?

Then Ryan tells Matt Josh didn't propose the offer they thought he would. Ryan is giving up people, lying, and making deals left and right to the point that I have no clue what his real agenda is. I think it could be a stroke of genius in which he's making everyone suspicious of everyone else, effortlessly deflecting any animosity from himself.


Veto in the Corner Pocket

The PoV ceremony features Ryan, Sharon, Chelsia, Adam, Sheila and Joshuah. It a billiards game mixed with Nasty Christmas, where each loser gets a prize, then can trade with any other prizes already opened. Here's the rundown:

-Sheila is out and wins PoV.
-Sharon is out and gets a motorcycle, but trades it to Sheila for the PoV.
-Joshuah is out, wins a letter from home, and keeps it.
-Adam is out, wins $10,000, and trades it to Sheila as an act of goodwill to the single mom.
-Chelsia is out, wins a Slop Pass, and trades it to Sharon for the PoV.
-Ryan gets Jen's red unitard from Big Brother 8, which the owner must wear for one week. He takes Sheila's money, sticking her with the unitard.


Sheila is the Bigger Man

Sheila is clearly upset that, after Adam's gracious charity to the single mom, Ryan took it away. She says she could use the money since she's a single mom, and Chelsia tells her not to use the “single mom” card. This angers Sheila, which is not something you want to do to a 45-year-old woman in a red unitard.

Sheila goes to Ryan and, though he took the money, she still looks out for his best interests, saying her, Natalie, Matt and Adam are the ones on his side, and the alliance of pairs needs to be stopped. She urges him not to backdoor Matt. You have to admire the way Sheila is putting herself in a position, behind a strong three-man alliance of Adam, Ryan and Matt.


Matt Prematurely Evicts Himself

At the PoV ceremony, Chelsia takes herself off, and after a classically misleading speech, Ryan puts up James, siding with Sheila and shocking the Alliance of Pairs. Matt, never one to stay humble, gloats right in Joshuah's face about how great he is and how he's the man now, dog. They already wanted Matt gone, but now he's just digging the hole deeper, making everyone want him gone. It's great for the members of his alliance, bad for him, especially if Chelsia, Joshuah, or the non-evicted HG wins HoH.


-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of CBS)